Matched Book Review Summary

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Matched

Matched follows the story of Cassia Reyes, a seventeen year old girl who lives in the Society, a government that controls every aspect of an individual's life. The Society highly controls each individual to create a perfect way of life. People in the Society are given special amount of food designed for each person, the job they have as an adult, their death at the age of 80, and the person whom they are going to marry, which is called the Match Banquet. Cassia celebrates the day of her 17th birthday in the Match along with others her age. She feels lucky as the Society chooses Xander as her Match. She thinks that she does not need to read the information in the microcard given to her because she has known Xander all her life. A few days after the Match Banquet, she decides to look at it and gets surprised that someone else's face comes up. It is Ky Markham, a boy who lives in the same city with her aunt and uncle. The following day, an Official informs her that there has been an error with her microcard, but she does not need to worry as Xander is her real match. She is informed that Ky is an Aberration, a person who cannot marry because his father committed an infraction a long time ago. She is given another microcard, and she asks if she can talk to her grandfather about what happened. The Official agrees because her grandfather will be in his Final Banquet the next night, which means he is going to die at the age of 80 which is scheduled by the Society.
She visits her grandfather and he gives her a memorabilia. A small compact from her grandmother with a secret compartment that hides a poem by Dylan Thomas entitled Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. This poem has long been gone because the Society does not include it in the carefully selected list of 100 Best Poems. He gives her an advice to wonder at the possibility of choices in the future. On the day of the Final Banquet, her grandfather was given a chance to have his tissue sample collected if the possibility arises that the Society will be able to bring him back to life. Cassia and her friends goes out to see a movie, a government-sponsored movie that they have repeatedly seen. Ky joins them ans sits beside Cassia which makes her intrigued about the mysterious Ky. The movie shows a life full of chaos which was the life before there was a Society. Cassia notices that Ky seems to be crying but shows no indication at all at the end of the movie. That summer, Cassia takes hiking as a summer recreation class. During their hikes, she sees to it that she reaches the top first so she can get a chance to read the forbidden poem without anyone knowing. One time, Ky reaches the top of the hill first and they talk about Ky's life in the Outer Provinces. He also tells Cassia that he knows that she reads the poem. Ky offers to destroy the paper but Cassia declines. The Officials arrive at Cassia's house because her father lost her grandfather's tissue sample which saddens Cassia because it means that there is no longer a possibility for her to see her grandfather in the future. Cassia gets scared of the situation at first because she thinks that Ky might have turned her in and told the Officials about the poem. The following day, she goes to her father's work site where they are burning the books excluded from the list given by the authority, and there she burns the poem. Cassia admits to what she did to her father and her father tells her that he destroyed the tissue sample intentionally, because that is what her grandfather wants. Cassia gets surprised by her father's act of defiance but starts to doubt the Society.

Cassia and Ky share a lot of sweet moments together. People in the Society do not know how to write anymore but Ky admits that he knows how to. He teaches Cassia to write her own name and Cassia recites the poem that she has memorized. Ky also gives her some notes on stolen napkins which is safer than paper because Cassia can easily destroy it in their incinerator without alerting the Officials. The Officials arrive at her house again to collect all the artifacts to display at a museum. Cassia gives up the compact but asks Xander to hide the compass given by Ky. He does it and hides it outside Ky's house. Cassia changes her fate by getting the highest score on her job assessment test. The Officials warn her that her good future may be ruined by a relationship with an Abberation because she may have that status herself. They give her an assignment in the Nutrition Department which is where Ky is working. He was given a lowly and dangerous job because of his status. Cassia understands the risk of handling poisoned food for the elderly and decides to take matters in her hands. In her sorting assignment she places Ky in the top employees so he can be transferred in a different field. She does not know that Ky will be transferred in the warfront in the Outer Provinces which is more dangerous than being in the Nutrition Department. She discovers it one morning when the Officials held Ky against his and his adoptive parents' will. The Officials ask the witnesses to take the red pill but Cassia secretly throws the pill on the ground. All people carry special tablets in the Society, a blue pill for food just in case they get lost, a green tablet as a tranquilizer and the mysterious red tablet which can only be taken if an Official instructs them to do so. That day, Cassia learns that the red pill wipes out recent memories just in case that something goes out of hand in the perfect Society. Cassia tells Ky that she will look for him. She also admits to Xander her feelings for Ky and though he notices it, he still feels sad about what she said. An Official approaches Cassia and tells her that Ky being in the Matching Pool was intentional and experimental so that they can examine what two teenagers will do in case this kind of situation arises. Cassia does not believe the Official. She knows that the Society wants everyone to forget about everything because their family are being transferred to a different location in the Farmlands. The story ends with Cassia thinking of looking for Ky with the help of the extra blue pills that he gave her. Her parents also report her to the Officials intentionally so that she can be moved to a place near Ky.
Best part of story, including ending:
It is like any other dystopian novel. The characters are really interesting and their love story is exciting.

Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was when Cassia's grandfather gave her the compact and the poem. That started Cassia to question and to wonder about the Society and future possibilities. It is also heartbreaking because the scene of losing her grandfather in a few days was wonderfully described.

Opinion about the main character:
I like that Cassia asks a lot of question about her life. She thinks first before she acts and she is not careless enough to incur any infractions for the sake of her family.

The review of this Book prepared by Teresita Sya Level 1 Blue Jay scholar

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Chapter Analysis of Matched

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Plot & Themes

Composition of BookDescript. of chases or violence 20%planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives 30%Feelings, relationships, character bio/development 30%Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places 20%Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Repressive society story - YesRepressive because: - strict rationing of freedoms/goodsIs this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's a slave/repressed? - humans are slaves of other humans